The Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI) has attributed unemployment and poverty in the country to neglect of research by successive governments since independence.
The Secretary General of ASURI, Dr Theophilus Ndubuaku, said this during the graduation and special investiture of Institute of Criminology and Strategic Studies (ICSS) in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the event was entitled: ” National Securities Challenges, The Impact on Business and Sustainable Development”.
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According to Ndubuaku, research is the key to development and when a country neglects research, the result is unemployment and poverty.
“The major reason for insecurity in the country is unemployment and poverty.
“I want to reiterate that Nigeria is the most naturally endowed nation in the world; this is in term of diversity and natural resources.
“But unfortunately, the country created by God to be number one has been designated as poverty capital, then what is the problem?
“The problem we have is neglect of research, Nigeria is blessed with natural resources, while we have some countries that did not have any resources.
“These countries come to Nigeria import our raw materials and develop them to cars and others and still bring them back here.
“This is because they have made research and now develop these raw materials they imported from us.
“So, in a country with 200 million population, if you don’t employ people everyone will become bandits and you can’t employ people without using the tools for development which is research,” he said.
Speaking on the theme of the event, Dr Chuks Maha, a security expert, said that business of security was everybody’s business, not just government or communal effort.
According to Maha, every individual has a role to play in reversing the country back to normalcy.
“Firstly, government should provide enabling environment where insecurity will not work again.
“Legislators will come up with laws that will help the judiciary in ensuring calming down state of insecurity.
“The hoodlums are no spirit, they live among us, so individual should come together to help the various security agencies by pointing and fishing out the criminals among them,” he said.
Maha advocated for two years compulsory military training for young graduating Nigerian students instead of one-year NYSC programme to tackle insecurity in the country.
Dr Olayide Morakinyo, Managing Director, Arksego Security, a private security organisation, said the role of private security was to support the effort of the government in crime prevention.
According to him, when it comes to security and intelligence gathering, we have to help the government because we live among the people, we know the people and we are in the community.
“The government can do a lot with us, they can gain a lot from us just as we lean on them for support,” she said.
In his address, Dr Ade Abodunrin, the Chairman, Governing Council, ICSS, said that 53 people graduated while 30 eminent personalities were carefully selected for honours based on their unbroken track records.
“We have gathered here today for two important events namely; to launch into the world the institute’s graduating students; to honour and decorate two important groups of individuals.
“They are deserving members of the institute who have made sterling contribution in promoting the ideas of our profession and those who have used their experiences, skills, competences and financial resources in contributing towards development and maintenance of peace, unity and progress of Nigeria.
“These people were selected by the institute for distinguishing themselves in nation and their various avenue of service to the humanity in general,” he said. (NAN)
